Call for Nominations 2019

Call for Nominations 2019

We invite Cornell faculty to submit nominations for Cornell’s A.D. White Professors-at-Large Program. The A.D. White Professors-at-Large are outstanding individuals of international distinction, appointed to six-year terms as non-resident visiting professors at Cornell.

During their tenure, A.D. White Professors-at-Large complete two to three 5-7 day visits to campus interacting with faculty, students, and members of the community through public lectures, informal meetings, and various other events. The A.D. White Professors-at-Large Program Administration coordinates all logistics and arrangements for each visit guided by the interests and expertise of the faculty sponsors, who commit to serving as faculty hosts.

Nominating an A.D. White candidate is a two-step process:

Step 1: The first step is a preproposal submission consisting of a brief, focused letter supporting the candidate based on stature and promise of significant campus interest. Individual faculty members, academic departments, or groups of departments are welcome to propose candidates. The pre-proposal letter should indicate faculty, departments, or programs that have agreed to support the nomination. It should also include a CV of the candidate.

Preproposals are due on or before Tuesday, November 20, 2018, at adwhitepal@cornell.edu, or the A.D. White Professors-at-Large Program Office, 114b Day Hall, Ithaca, New York 14853. The Program particularly encourages the nomination of women and minority candidates.

Step 2: The final full nomination is a programmatic plan that follows a checklist to be sent to nominators who successfully reach this step in the nominating process. The full nomination is due on or before Monday, February 25, 2019.

Full proposals most likely to be considered for selection will:

Explain how a candidate’s accomplishments and activities will benefit the Cornell community

Describe how a candidate’s expertise will capture the interest of a wide range of faculty and students in various departments and colleges at Cornell, and the surrounding community

Reference the candidate’s ability to sustain over the course of their six-year professorship the rigorous demands inherent in a brief but busy visit to campus

Assess the candidate’s enthusiasm for and readiness to engage with diverse academic and community constituencies that may add unexpected time requests to an already busy schedule

Detail how the candidate will promote diversity and equity in research or practice across Cornell’s campuses over a six-year term

Committee Review Process: A faculty Selection Committee oversees the selection process, and after reviewing all pre-proposal letters, invites the authors of successful pre-proposals to submit full proposals expanding and strengthening the case for their respective nominees. Full proposal packages are due to the Program Office by Monday, February 25, 2019. The faculty Selection Committee reviews and forwards the strongest candidate packages to the President’s Office and the Board of Trustees for approval. The six-year term of appointment for nominees approved by the President and Board of Trustees in May, 2018, will begin effective July 1, 2019.

Exceptions: Under rare circumstances, the Selection Committee may allow nominators to bypass the pre-proposal stage and submit only full packages on Monday, February 25, 2019. Nevertheless, historically the most successful nominations have emerged from the two-stage process.

Note: Among the other lectureships that are available at Cornell, the University, Messenger, and Rhodes Class of ’56 Lectureships offer opportunities through a similar nominations process, which may be an alternative source for funding a prospective candidate.

Additional Information:

The Program Office handles all the logistics of the visits. Faculty sponsors depend on the Program Administrator to provide such services as: scheduling visits; the obtaining of visas; provision of ID cards; payment of salary, travel reimbursement, and other expenses; organizing the schedule of activities; room scheduling and publicity; and the management of public lectures. The Program Administrator also assists Professors-at-Large directly while they are in residence to ensure that the visits go smoothly.

For a copy of the policies and procedures for faculty hosts related to the professorship–Professor-at-Large compensation, terms of appointment, and formal campus visits contact the Program Office at 607-255-0832, by email at pn12@cornell.edu, or by US Post mail to: 144 East Ave, Room 114B Day Hall, Ithaca, New York 14853. It is recommended that those faculty wishing to write a pre-proposal nomination contact the Program Office in advance for this information.

The AD White Selection Committee encourages faculty members, academic departments or groups of departments to make this unique contribution to the intellectual and creative life of the campus and community.